From a hypocritical life to a true life

From a hypocritical life to a true life

 

Matthew 23:13-28

 

 

Jesus declares woe to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. It is said that they block the gate of heaven and block those who are trying to enter without entering themselves. And they try hard to gain one member, but when they do, they make him a child of hell. Woe to them, they say, whoever swears by the temple will do nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the temple must keep it. They also said, "If anyone swears by the altar, nothing will happen; but if anyone swears by the offering of the altar, he must keep it." Also, woe to them because they tithe mint, anise, and cummin, but neglect the more precious things of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. It is also said that they strain out the gnat and swallow the camel. Woe to them, for they clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and debauchery. Also, woe to them, like whitewashed tombs, who try to appear righteous to people on the outside, but on the inside are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 

Jesus declares woe to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. We must look back and repent to see if we have such a hypocritical appearance, and live as true Christians whose outward appearance and inner heart match.

 

The scribes and the Pharisees block the gates of heaven and prevent those who are trying to enter without entering themselves. And when they try to win a member of the church, they make him a child of hell. We must correctly know the way to heaven, believe in it, practice it, and correctly guide those who want to go to heaven.

 

The scribes and Pharisees valued the gold of the temple more than the temple, and the offerings of the altar more than the altar. We must value the temple and the altar more than gold and offerings. We must value God more than material things.

 

The scribes and Pharisees gave tithes of mint, anise, and cumin, even the smallest, but neglected the more precious things of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faith. We should cherish justice, mercy, and faith, as well as tithing.

 

The scribes and Pharisees strained out the gnat and swallowed the camel. We should not dwell too much on trivial matters and focus on the important ones.

 

The scribes and Pharisees tried to appear righteous to people by being clean on the outside, but inside they were full of greed, debauchery, hypocrisy and lawlessness. We must clean not only the outside but also the inside.

 

God, let us look back to see if we have the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, truly repent, and cherish justice, mercy, and faith!